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1 December 2009 A new approach to examining scorpion peg sensilla: the mineral oil flood technique
Elizabeth D. Knowlton, Douglas D. Gaffin
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Abstract

All scorpions possess jointed, ventral appendages called pectines. These organs have chemosensory, peg-shaped sensilla that detect substrate-borne chemicals. Previous physiological studies show that neurons within peg sensilla respond to an assortment of volatile organic chemical stimulants blown across the sensillar opening. We developed an improved method of chemical stimulant delivery called the mineral oil flood technique to further investigate the neural circuitry of scorpion pectines. The new mineral oil flood technique allows us to deliver chemical stimulants directly to individual sensilla by introducing a polar, liquid substance under non-polar mineral oil. Unlike previous methods of stimulant delivery, the mineral oil flood technique allows for precise control over the duration of direct contact between a liquid stimulant of known concentration and a sensillum.

Elizabeth D. Knowlton and Douglas D. Gaffin "A new approach to examining scorpion peg sensilla: the mineral oil flood technique," The Journal of Arachnology 37(3), 379-382, (1 December 2009). https://doi.org/10.1636/SH08-79SC.1
Received: 30 September 2008; Published: 1 December 2009
KEYWORDS
chemosensory
electrophysiology
Pectines
Scorpiones
stimulant
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